AND… we’ve even reserved 25 percent of the water we’ve siphoned in three reserve buckets as we’ve read our new canister filter’s bits and bobs should only be cleaned with tank water, so as to preserve the beneficial bacteria thriving on said bits and bobs…

“Beneficial bacteria are essential as they process biological waste produced by the fish. “answers.seneye.com

Ah… but especially alert readers may also recall a recent caveat about life preservers…

For, though “Fortune favors the bold…”

It sometimes doesn’t hurt to read the instructions…

okay … now what?

Hmmm?

Or at least watch the included-for-free instructional dvd that arrived with the brand new canister filter…

And then pretty much tuck that dvd back into its shiny case and search around You Tube for a more detailed and useful demonstration…

Because when yours truly disengaged the in-take and out-take water hoses linking the canister to the tank….

Oh my…

It all turned out alright in the end… after lots of mopping, a bit of carpet-stain remover and, let’s be honest, another life preserver…

But let’s just say, I’ll be reviewing a few more online tutorials before braving that canister again.

For instance… Josh, who works at a nationally known pet-retailer in North Haven, Conn., said, “The most common mistake I’ve encountered? People who put house plants in their tanks without realizing they’re toxic to fish.”

Josh said such customers generally come in complaining their fish are “acting sluggish,” or worse, and after some diagnostic questioning admit, “Why yes, I have recently added something new to the tank. I thought a cutting from my English Ivy might look nice.” Josh said it might “look nice” but English Ivy is toxic to pet fish. Here’s a basic list of other toxic plants:

As for caring for basic beginner plants, like Anubias Barteri and Amazon Swords, or even duck-weed and java moss balls…

Josh said most of the nutrients these hardy tank additions need are “acquired straight from the tank’s substrate, its water, fish wastes and your basic florescent or L.E.D. aquarium light. They don’t really need a lot to keep them going.”

He added that while light is obviously essential for photosynthesis, “It’s also important you turn the lights off at night. Just like fish need their little quiet-time, plants need a rest, too.”

technabob.com

Though his shop sells a wide variety of colorful and realistic looking artificial plants… Josh says he for one prefers natural plants. “They just look nicer, compared to plastic. I think an aquarium setting should look as natural as possible. That’s part of the aesthetic of setting up a beautiful tank.”

Confession: I mostly look at the plants I pop into our aquarium the same way other people give their cat a tin of actual tuna…

This cat just heard she’s getting a tin of actual tuna

In other words, I provide them because my goldfish really seem to enjoy grazing on them…

dragoart.com

But it’s not all about snacking… Live plants don’t just supplement the omnivorous goldfish meal-plan, they contribute to George and Flash’s general well-being and the health of their environment: providing shelter for the smaller fish that share their tank, helping to cycle oxygen, serving as natural nitrate and nitrite filters, plus..!!

“Plants that absorb nutrients from the water also make it difficult for algae to grow and therefore, indirectly help to clean the tank.”

Beginners often find it challenging to strike the right light spectrum balance and meet their flora’s nutrient requirements.

So, until next we meet (and enjoy exploring a forest of aqua-flora) … here’s a sweet little plant my goldfish consider a slice of heaven:

Felicity

“To remember a successful salad is generally to remember a successful dinner; at all events, the perfect dinner necessarily includes the perfect salad.”George Ellwanger (1848-1906)
‘Pleasures of the Table’ (1902)

“Chad (of Vossen Aquatics) brought the above distressed Scribbled Angelfish to Lexington Pet Clinic (Minnesota). There Veterinarian Dr. Kizer performed surgery after the X-ray identified a rock lodged in the angelfish’s intestine. The procedure took approximately an hour in which the fish was out of water and anesthetized.” Read the full story here:

Though it can take an extensive Internet search to locate a local fish vet, Dr. A. David Scarfe of the AMVA’s Scientific Division says, “Aquatic Veterinary medicine is probably the largest growing field of veterinary medicine in the past ten years.”

Then again… sometimes those salt-of-the-earth sollutions are best when there’s no help at hand:

That said, I find following the directions on the side of my cartoon of aquarium salt the surest remedy and quickest route to help:

And in case you were afraid to look,

the story about the little angel has a happy ending…

“The Scribbled Angelfish, all stitched up.”

Felcity –

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”
― Anatole France

Heather is the well-meaning but somewhat lackadaisical (sorry, Heather, but you know it’s true) owner of a 26-gallon freshwater bow-front aquarium so spotted with green algae she won’t let me photograph it for inclusion in this post.

Heather: “Well, you did have that post way back when…”

Felicity: “‘Too Much of A Good Thing Can be Wonderful.’ Posted on Valentine’s Day.”

Heather: “Uh huh, when you asked… ‘What’s the most unaesthetic beneficial thing in your tank?'”

Felicity: “I see where you’re going with this but there’s a difference between ‘unaesthetic’ and, well, this…”